Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD

PhD, University of California, Riverside
Associate Professor

Phone: (415) 502-4967
Fax: (415) 476-6106
E-mail: halpernfelsherb@peds.ucsf.edu

UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center
Division of Adolescent Medicine
Center for Tobacco Control Research & Education
Center for Tobacco Control Research & Education Faculty Page

Research Interests:

My research primarily focuses on health-related decision-making, perceptions of risk and vulnerability, and health communication. I am examining the extent to which adolescents’ and young adults’ perceptions of health-related risks and benefits influence the onset and continuation of sexual activity, both with and without condom use (funded by the NIH) as well as tobacco use and addiction (funded by California’s Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program). I am also investigating the extent to which peers’ experiences with sexual behaviors and related positive and negative outcomes play a role in judgments and subsequent behavior. For these two studies, we have surveyed two large cohorts of adolescents every 6 months for 4 years about their behaviors and perceptions. Through additional funding from the William T. Grant Foundation, we have also interviewed a subset of adolescents to gain more in-depth knowledge about their behavior-linked perceptions and decision-making. Most recently, my lab has been focusing on how race/ethnicity and acculturation affect adolescent and young adult decision-making, perceptions, and actual behavior.

Selected Publications:

Brady SS, Halpern-Felsher BL. (in press). It's not so easy to "Just Say No" to sex: Social and emotional consequences of refraining from sex among sexually experienced and inexperienced youth. American Journal of Public Health.

Brady SS, Halpern-Felsher BL. (2007). Adolescents’ reported consequences of having oral versus vaginal sex. Pediatrics, 119, 229-236.

Michels TM, Kropp RY, Eyre SL, Halpern-Felsher BL. (2005). Initiating sexual experiences: How do young adolescents make decisions regarding early sexual activity? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15, 583-607.

Goldberg JH, Halpern-Felsher BL, Millstein SG. (2002). Beyond invulnerability: The importance of benefits in adolescents’ decision to drink alcohol. Health Psychology, 21, 477-484.

Halpern-Felsher B, Cauffman E. (2001). Costs and benefits of a decision: Decisionmaking competence in adolescents and adults. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 22, 257-273.

Halpern-Felsher BL, Millstein SG, Ellen J, Adler N, Tschann J, Biehl M. (2001).The role of behavioral experience in judging risks. Health Psychology, 20, 120-126.

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